The curtain comes down for the very last time at the Wembley Majestic Cinema - the final part of the local history series

This the last of the local history series on the Wembley Majestic by Tony Royden and Philip Grant. I would like to thank them for the guest  articles that are clearly the result of a great deal of research and preserve another piece of Wembley history.

 

1.The Majestic Cinema from Park Lane, early 1950s, with a carnival procession passing by.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed the two previous instalments of our story, taking us up to the cinema’s opening night on 11 January 1929. If you missed them, “click” on these “links” for Part 1 and Part 2. 

 

After all the hype and publicity behind Wembley’s new ‘super cinema’, the Majestic finally opened its doors to the public on Saturday 12 January 1929 and the audience were treated to a one-day special programme: On the bill were variety acts and two black-and-white, silent movies, with the headline feature film, “Across the Atlantic”, starring Monty Blue and Edna Murphy - a 1928 US, hour-long, romantic drama. With its first takings at the box office, the Majestic was now up and running as a business.

 

2.The Majestic’s advertisement from the “Wembley News”, 25 January 1929.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

From that day, the Majestic adopted a regular pattern of screening two films a week: Monday to Wednesday (the first film) and Thursday to Saturday (the second film), with Sunday being a day of rest, until the law was changed in 1932. Often billed alongside the movies would be live variety acts, performed on the Majestic’s stage and music played on the cinema’s Kinestra organ (sometimes to accompany silent movies and other times solo pieces would be performed in the interludes).

 

3.The Majestic’s projection room and its equipment.
(“Kinematograph Weekly”, 17 January 1929 – image courtesy of the British Library)

 

An article published in the “Kinematograph Weekly”, 17 January 1929, stated: 'The Majestic embodies every principle of the best West End practice and there can be few similar halls which will bear comparison with the building, especially as regards the equipment of the projection box, which should serve as an example of modern installation of this nature.' The projection room was indeed something to be proud of, but no sooner had the Majestic opened, a major transition in cinematic history was taking place.

 

In October 1927 the very first “part-talkie” movie “The Jazz Singer” premiered in America – and it was an instant hit. The film screened at London’s Piccadilly Theatre in September 1928 and in the same month, British Talking Pictures Ltd (a newly formed company), had acquired a former British Empire Exhibition building at Wembley Park, to open a film studio – later claiming it to be the first fully equipped talking-picture studio in Europe. A new era of ‘talking movies’ had arrived and although the Majestic had top class film projectors, it would soon have to change and move with the times – an added expense they didn’t see coming.

 

4.One of W.E. Greenwood’s interior designs, in the Majestic Cinema’s auditorium, colourised.
(From the “Wembley News” supplement, 18 January 1929)

 

Other changes were also on the horizon: By the end of 1929, Wembley’s Majestic Cinema had changed ownership from the original company of local businessmen, led by R.H. Powis (a County Councillor and public works contractor), to the ‘Majestic Theatres Corporation Ltd’, headed and chaired by W.E. Greenwood – the highly acclaimed atmospheric interior designer of Wembley’s Majestic cinema. The new company seemed to have legs and in December 1929, “The Bioscope” reported that a second “Majestic” cinema had opened in Staines and that there would be a third “Majestic” opening in High Wycombe (both with interior décor designed by Mr Greenwood) to add to the Wembley “Majestic” which the new company now owned.

 

How did the two rival cinemas in Wembley respond to competition from the new Majestic ‘super cinema’? The change in the style of the Majestic’s weekly programme advertisements in 1933 was a sign that something was going on!

 

5.Majestic Cinema programme adverts from the “Wembley News”, April and December 1933.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

The Elite Cinema (with 1500 seats) located in Raglan Gardens (now Empire Way), closed in March 1930 and, after internal reconstruction, reopened in May 1930 as the Capitol Cinema, increasing its capacity to 1637 seats. It was refurbished again in 1933 and it was around this time that the Capitol and the Majestic decided the best way forward for both businesses to prosper would be to operate under one umbrella. It turned out that they were now both ultimately owned by County Cinemas Ltd (though operated through a local subsidiary company). The ownership change was publicly confirmed from July 1934, when their weekly programmes were displayed in joint advertisements.

 

6.Majestic and Capitol Cinema programme advert from the “Wembley News”, 5 July 1934.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

The Majestic’s other, and nearest, rival (as you can tell from the aerial photograph below) was the smaller, privately-owned, Wembley Hall Cinema – located at the corner of the High Road and Cecil Avenue. It was 1935 before its proprietor, Miss Nora Thomson, decided to rebuild and modernise her cinema, increasing the seating capacity from 560 to 1050. This may have been in response to competition from the Majestic, or even from the rapidly-growing Odeon chain that had opened cinemas in Kingsbury and Kenton in 1934, and had plans to open another cinema even closer, in Allandale Avenue, Sudbury, in 1935. But with the film industry growing at an exponential rate, and on the cusp of what was considered to be the ‘Golden Age of Cinema’ (with people flocking to see their favourite movie stars and latest film releases), Miss Thomson’s decision to expand may have simply been to reap the rewards of that.

 

7.Aerial photograph showing part of Wembley High Road in 1938, with arrows showing the two cinemas.
(Britain from Above, image EPW056263 – courtesy of Historic England)

 

The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 may have had a profound impact on County Cinemas Ltd as (in the same month) it was sold to Oscar Deutsch’s Odeon Cinema chain. The Majestic managed to keep its name, and both its cinema and ballroom played their part in helping to keep up the morale of local civilians during the dark wartime years.  But more changes were afoot, when the Rank Organisation bought control of Odeon Cinemas following Deutsch’s death in 1941. As for the Capitol Cinema in Empire Way, that too played its part in the war effort when, in 1943, it was requisitioned to use as a shelter for people displaced from their bomb-damaged homes – it was never to reopen as a cinema again.

 

8.Two adverts for events at the Majestic in May 1943. (Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

From the end of the war through to the mid-1950s, the film industry experienced a period of prosperity, marked by a series of box office hits shown at the Majestic from Paramount Pictures, whose Academy Award winning films included "Sunset Boulevard", "The Greatest Show on Earth", "Shane" and Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments".

 

9.Wembley High Road in the early 1950s, with the Majestic Cinema on the right. (Colourised photograph)

 

In January 1956, after it was decided that the Majestic needed a more modern feel, applications were submitted for new signage for the front of the building: The café was to become the “STARS espresso bar and restaurant”, and a large vertical illuminated “ODEON” sign was to be placed above the entrance door. The Majestic’s name was formally changed to the Odeon in March 1956 (although local residents still referred to it as The Majestic!). 

 

Meanwhile, the Wembley Hall Cinema, which had operated independently for 25 years under the ownership of Miss Nora Thomson, came to an end when Miss Thomson retired and sold her cinema in February 1956. The cinema closed for two weeks for rebranding and reopened on 25 March under the new name of “Gaumont”. This should have rung alarm bells, as both the Odeon and Gaumont cinema chains were owned by the Rank Organisation.

 

At that time, the Majestic’s future may have still looked bright, especially when more illuminated signs appeared on the front of the building in 1957, advertising the “Victor Silvester Dance Studio” – this would have been a huge draw. The famous Wembley-born ballroom dancer and band leader ran a chain of schools teaching ballroom dancing, and one of these opened in the Majestic’s ballroom. 

 

10.The Odeon (former Majestic) Wembley, with signs for the Victor Silverster dance studio, around 1960.
(Brent Archives – Wembley History Society Collection – colourised version)

 

However, television had arrived and its popularity was rapidly growing. By 1960, box office takings were on the decline and ‘The Golden Age of Cinema’ was coming to an end. During this period, Wembley had three cinemas, all in close proximity to each other – the Majestic, the Gaumont and the Regal/ABC (which had opened on Ealing Road, 8 February 1937). The market share wasn’t enough to go around and so something had to give.  

 

The Rank Organisation had probably been considering getting rid of one of their two Wembley High Road cinemas for some time (especially as they had already closed their Odeon cinema on Allandale Avenue, Sudbury, in October 1956). When a potential buyer came knocking with an offer for the much larger of the two cinemas, located in a more desirable position for shopping, the writing was on the wall for the Majestic.    

 

On Thursday, May 25 1961, Wembley residents awoke to read a front-page headline in the “Wembley Observer” that must have shaken them to the core. It read: “Former Majestic closes on Saturday. WEMBLEY LOSES ITS ODEON CINEMA.” Inside, instead of the usual programme advertisement, was an announcement from the cinema itself stating: ’The management regret that this Theatre will be closed as from Sunday, May 28th’.

 

11.The front-page story in the “Wembley Observer”, 25 May 1961.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

12.The Odeon programme advert from the “Wembley Observer”, 25 May 1961.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

If the news wasn’t shocking enough, it was also announced that the dance studio and restaurant had been told they must close on the same day. The Observer further reported that the Rank Organisation had, that week, submitted an outline planning application to build a supermarket on the cinema’s site. It was the end of an era – Wembley’s beloved Majestic/Odeon was to be no more. Its wonderful stage curtain had fallen for the last time. 

 

13.The Majestic Cinema’s safety curtain - colourised.
(From the “Wembley News” supplement, 18 January 1929)

 

Out of the two cinemas on Wembley High Road, it was the Gaumont that went on to fight another day. When the Majestic closed, the Rank Organisation simultaneously rebranded the Gaumont to their more popularly known Odeon name, and there it continued as the Wembley Odeon until it closed in January 1975. (The building was used again from 1976 to 1981, as the Liberty Cinema, showing Bollywood films, before it was finally demolished.)

 

14.The former Wembley Hall Cinema, as the Gaumont (1956) and Wembley Odeon (1962).
(Images from the internet)

 

Only a third of a century after it was built, Wembley’s Majestic Cinema was demolished. The building which replaced it opened as a C&A Modes clothing shop in 1962. More recently, readers may also remember this as a Wilkinson’s “Wilko” store, but that too has gone. 

 

15.The 1960s building on the former Majestic Cinema site, from Park Lane, June 2025.

 

Sadly, the Majestic Cinema and its name have long disappeared from our High Road, but we hope that this short series of articles has helped you to visualise the grandeur of Wembley’s own “super cinema” and in some way, helped to preserve its memory. R.H. Powis, whose dream it was for local men to build the Majestic for the enjoyment of local people, is also long gone. But in his capacity as a public works contractor, his name has not entirely disappeared from our local streets – if you keep your eyes peeled, you may just see it as you stroll through the area!

 

16.An “R.H. Powis – Wembley” manhole cover. (This one is in Slough Lane, Kingsbury)

Tony Royden and Philip Grant.

Victor Silvester – Strictly from Wembley

This is the last local history post for a while from Philip Grant. I would like to thank him for what I know many readers have found to be a fascinating series of articles. It has involved a huge amount of meticulous research carried out during lockdown. I am very grateful for his and other authors' contributions to Wembley Matters. Thank you.

Martin Francis (Editor)

 

This is the time of year when many people look forward to watching “Strictly Come Dancing” on a Saturday evening. But “Strictly” may never have happened if it were not for a man born in Wembley!

 

1. St John's Church and its noticeboard, when Rev. Silvester was its Vicar. (Brent Archives 1197 and 9523)

 

 

In 1895 John William Potts Silvester, a recently ordained Church of England priest, arrived in Wembley to serve as a curate at St John the Evangelist Church. Because of the ill health of the vicar he came to assist, Silvester became the parish priest a year later, a post he held until 1944. He and his young wife Kate, from Lancashire like her husband, moved into the vicarage in Crawford Avenue, and she was to bear him successively two sons and then four daughters. 

 

 

 

 

2. A postcard of St John's Vicarage, first half of the 20th century. (Brent Archives online image 10605)

 

 

The eldest son rejoiced in the name of Temple St John Hudson Silvester, being named after the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, St John’s Church and his mother’s maiden name! Their second son was born in the vicarage on 25 February 1900, and was named Victor. This was probably because of a “victory”, the relief of Kimberley during Britain’s war with the South African Boers, which had been reported in “The Times” the previous day. Victor’s middle name was Marlborough, after another bishop.

 

 

With all this C of E background, you might think that the Silvester boys were destined for a career in the Church. But Temple served as an officer in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, then went on to qualify as a doctor; and Victor, well ,,,!

 

 

 

3. Ardingly College, in West Sussex (designed by a Victorian church architect?). (Image from the internet)

 

 

I don’t have details of his early education, apart from that he had private piano lessons at home. When he was old enough, Victor was sent away to school, originally at Ardingly College in Sussex, a school with strong Anglican associations, from which he ran away. He was then sent to St John's School at Leatherhead, established in 1851 for the sons of Anglican clergy, and he ran away again. Finally, his father realised that a boarding school did not suit Victor, and he was sent as a day boy to John Lyon School in Harrow.

 

 

Victor “escaped” from school again during the First World War. Although not yet fifteen, he was tall and was able to persuade a recruiting sergeant (how much persuasion did he need?) that he was of military age.  Apparently, he joined the London Scottish, a Territorial regiment at the end 1914, serving for sixteen months.  After that he enlisted in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, adding four years to his age, presumably to account for his previous service while pretending to be of military age. However, he was discharged a week later, perhaps at his father's request, on the grounds that he was still under-age. 

 

 

4. Young Victor in his Highlanders army uniform, and a WW1 Red Cross ambulance. (From the internet)

 

 

He then joined the Red Cross First Aid Service and served with them in France from October 1916 to June 1917, thereby becoming entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Victor was next transferred to the First British Ambulance Unit in Italy, and was awarded the Italian bronze medal for military valour for his part in the evacuation of San Gabriele, during which he was wounded. In early 1918, he re-enlisted in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, having finally reached military age. 

 

 

Towards the end of his life, Victor Silvester claimed that he was forced to witness, or even take part in, one or more executions of British soldiers by firing squad. He had not mentioned British executions years earlier in his autobiography, although he did refer to witnessing summary executions by the Italians of their deserters. Perhaps he had a false memory of events, based on this, but it is conceivable that the claims were suppressed by his publisher. After all, in those days, the fact of the executions was largely hushed up - it was only in 1998 that a list of death sentences and executions (some 10% of the sentences pronounced) was published.

 

 

As Victor was under nineteen at the time of the Armistice he did not serve abroad with the Argylls. It seems that he was considered for a commission, and spent time at Worcester College, Oxford, undergoing officer training. At the end of the war Victor was nominated for a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. His father, who had himself spent the war in uniform as a temporary Chaplain to the Forces, must have been relieved that his wayward son had at last found some sense of direction, but he was soon to receive a rude shock. 

 

 

At a tea dance, while waiting for his call-up to Sandhurst, Victor was offered work 'partnering unattached ladies' and after two weeks of tuition he took this up. He did go to the Royal Military College, but following a familiar pattern, he left after just three weeks. This was partly because he felt his previous experience in the army was being ignored or belittled, but perhaps the unattached ladies also had a certain allure. 

 

 

5. Victor Silvester ballroom dancing with his wife, Dorothy, c.1930. (Frontispiece “Modern Ballroom Dancing”)

 

By 1922, Victor Silvester was a full-time professional ballroom dancer, and practicing with his partner, Phyllis Clarke, for the first World Ballroom Dancing Championships, which they won. At the Empress Rooms, he met Dorothy Newton, then in the chorus of a musical at the London Palladium, and they were married in December that year. While his mother, brother and sister Gwendolyn came to the wedding at St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road, Victor’s father did not attend. Was this because the staid Victorian clergyman regarded his son as little better than a gigolo? (If you don’t know the meaning of that word, look it up in a dictionary!) Or perhaps he was too busy, both as Wembley’s Vicar, and a member of its Urban District Council (from 1911 to 1926, and its Chairman in 1921/22).

 

6. Rev. J.W.P. Silvester at the door of St John's Vicarage, 1925. (Brent Archives online image 9258)

 

 

In 1923, Victor opened his first dancing academy, in partnership with his wife. As a leading exponent, he was also involved in drawing up the rules used for ballroom dancing competitions, and went on to write books on the subject. His “Modern Ballroom Dancing”, first published in 1927, quickly became the “bible” on the subject. Victor regularly updated the book in his lifetime, and it is still in print today after more than sixty editions, the most recent in 2005, when a certain TV programme renewed public interest in ballroom dancing.

 

 

 

7. A selection of "Modern Ballroom Dancing" book covers, from 1939 to 2005. (Images from the internet)

 

 

Beginning with the history of ballroom dancing and why it is such an enjoyable activity, the book describes the basics of how to hold your partner and move during a dance, before going into detailed instructions for each type of dance. Some of the instructions (these are from the 1942 edition) would certainly raise eyebrows, if not hackles, today.

 

 

Extract from “The Gentleman’s Hold”: ‘Steer and control your partner with your body and right hand – not with your left. The left hand is held up for balancing purposes and appearance, not for leading your partner with.’

Extract from “The Lady’s Hold”: ‘Never attempt in any way to lead or guide your partner, submit yourself entirely to him. Do not lean on him or anticipate what is coming next, just follow.’

 

 

8. Photographs showing the correct "Hold" and "Balance". (From “Modern Ballroom Dancing”, 1942 edition)

 

 

Every different type of ballroom dance, be it waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango etc., is covered, with diagrams to show the steps for the gentleman and the lady for every move used in the dance. For five shillings, you could buy the book, and teach yourself the dance movements at home. The only extra thing you would need was the music.

 

 

9. Steps diagram for “the Natural Turn” in the Waltz. (From “Modern Ballroom Dancing”, 1942 edition)

 

 

Victor became concerned that the strict tempo, or number of beats per minute, necessary for the dances to be performed properly, was often absent in the way that dance music was played. His answer, in 1935, was to form his own Ballroom Orchestra, which was soon playing at live ballroom dancing events, and from 1937 on the wireless. Before long, he also had a recording contract, which saw dozens of records available, which people could play on their gramophones to dance to.

 

10. The label from a Victor Silvester gramophone record, and advert for more of these. (From the internet)

 

 

Although many of the tunes they played were from songs, unlike some other dance bands Victor’s never used a vocalist. He felt that dancers should be allowed to concentrate on the music – strict tempo was the key to the dance. If you would like to experience the sound of Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra, you can do so here:

 

 

 

 

 

11. Victor conducting his orchestra, and playing at a ballroom in the 1950s. (Images from the internet)

 

When I was a child in the 1950s, our bakelite radio set was usually tuned to the BBC Light Programme, and Victor Silvester was a popular broadcaster. Decades later, I still carry his signature tune in my head, along with the catchphrase ‘slow, slow, quick quick, slow’! He also had his own BBC television show, “Dancing Club”, which ran through much of the 1950s and 60s, as well as continuing to produce numerous records of dance music. He was the subject of a “This is Your Life” TV programme in 1957, and was awarded the OBE, for services to ballroom dancing, in 1961.

 

 

12. Victor on "This is Your Life", and with wife Dorothy after hearing of his OBE award. (From the internet)

 

 

By then, he had twenty-three dance studios, run by instructors he had trained, across the country. One of these was in the ballroom at the Majestic Cinema in Wembley High Road, where he sometimes conducted his orchestra. The Majestic, later an Odeon cinema, closed in 1962, and was demolished to make way for a C&A Modes fashion store (now Wilkinsons).

 

 

13. The Majestic Cinema, with Victor Silvester dance school, Wembley High Road, 1961. (W.H.S. collection)

 

 

Cruelly for a dancer, his wife Dorothy had a leg amputated in later life. Victor himself died of a heart attack in August 1978, after swimming while they were on holiday in the south of France. 

 

14. Three of the many LP record covers of Victor's Strict Tempo dance music. (Images from the internet)

 

 

During Victor’s lifetime, over 75 million of his dance music records were sold, with more on compilation LPs since then, and all of them played in strict tempo. Dancing in strict tempo, to strict rules, was a key theme of Baz Luhrmann’s 1992 Australian film “Strictly Ballroom”. 

 

 

15. A "Strictly Ballroom" film poster, and the logo for BBC's “Strictly Come Dancing”. (From the internet)

 

 

BBC television had a long-running ballroom dancing programme called “Come Dancing”, at various times from 1949 through to the 1990s. This started life as a show where professional dancers displayed their skills, and taught others how to dance. From 1953 it changed to a competition, and over more than 400 episodes its presenters included Peter West, Terry Wogan and Angela Rippon. When it was relaunched in 2004, with celebrities and professional dancers paired to compete in a knock-out format, a new title was needed. It’s a reflection of the influence of Victor Silvester on ballroom dancing that it is now “Strictly Come Dancing.”

 

 

Philip Grant, Wembley History Society.

 

 

I would not have known about Victor Silvester’s Wembley connections, let alone be able to write about them, if it were not for my late Wembley History Society colleague, Richard Graham. He wrote an article, “The bandleader and the clergyman”, for a Journal I was editing in 2009, and much of what I have written above was adapted from his work. This local history blog is dedicated to Richard’s memory.

 

 

This will be the last “local history in lockdown” article for now. I need to take a break, but hope you have enjoyed the past eight months of illustrated local history stories each weekend. 

 

 

When I first suggested the idea to Martin, back in March, I had no idea that “lockdown” would go on for so long. This programme of weekly articles (36 in total!) could not have continued throughout that time without the efforts and support of a number of friends in Brent’s local history community, especially Margaret, Christine, Irina and Paul.

 

 

Special thanks are due to Brent Archives (and to Ruth in particular) for allowing us to use many of the old photographs from their collection to illustrate our articles. If you have missed any of the articles, or would like to read some of them again, the Archives have made them available online – just “click” here to find pdf copies.